The Edge that Belongs in the Middle...

The other day I was walking along the beach. It was one of those warm
afternoons that beckon people from their workplaces & homes - out onto
the sand.

There is something profoundly soothing about the repeated action of
waves breaking onto the sand. There is that momentary stillness where
the water reaches its edge before it is pulled back into the sea.
Always, that edge is shifting - never quite the same. There is
tremendous energy in waves breaking onto the shore & constant change -
where one moment your step can be etched precisely into the beach and
the next moment erased by a sudden gush of water.

I find exquisite unpredictability about this edge place where waves
meet sand. I was walking along with my two sons when the retreating
water revealed it's treasure - a rather large crab. I thought it was
dead so I picked it up to show my boys. All of a sudden the crab was
trying to scramble from my grasp. It scared the 'fregeebas' out of me,
while the boys roared laughing in delight.

Why is it that so many people are energised by this kind of place ?
Why is it that when I look in the Real Estate window the most
expensive houses are always those closest to the beach ?

I wonder if people are drawn to the beach on warm winter days because
there is freshness and newness in such a place, because people can
re-center and recreate themselves away from the busyness of the
everyday. Mostly edges form borders & boundaries - marking out where
one thing finishes & another begins. However, for people who inhabit &
dwell in close proximity to these places, they can become the heart -
the edge that belongs in the middle.